Be Okay
by Angst Splatter
Summary: "I'm giving you the choice now. Give me the location of the turtles and you will stay unharmed."   "Never."   A fic revolving around the three strongest women of the Ninja Turtles. For once, it's not the turtles being captured and tortured.


Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.

~TMNT~

_Present_

April hung limply in the chains holding her up. Instead of focusing on the pain she was feeling, she stared at Angel, who was hanging across from her. Angel was definitely not in good shape. She hung there, limp, unmoving, and broken more in spirit than body. April wanted so badly to reach out and hug her tight and tell her that everything would be okay, no matter how much of a lie she knew that was.

How had things gone so badly so quickly?

~TMNT~

_Past_

April was startled up by frantic knocking at her door. Casey slept on soundly. Warrior that he was, he sure was a deep sleeper. Afraid that one of the guys had been injured, she leapt – well, more like fell – out of bed and stumbled to the door.

Angel was on the other side, looking wide-eyed and frantic. She stood there trembling and scared and April could tell she had been crying for quite a while. Giving her a quick search with her eyes, April deduced that Angel wasn't physically hurt – a relief – and then ushered her in.

"Angel? What's wrong?" April's motherly instincts kicked in immediately. Angel attempted to tell her, but ended up releasing a choked sob instead. "Shh, it's okay," April whispered, glad now that Casey was a heavy sleeper, and gathered Angel into her arms, hugging her tight.

Angel sobbed and clung to April. "Ape-April. I-I'm p-p-pregnant," she said softly, and then started sobbing harder.

April froze for a moment, thoughts running through her head at a million miles a minute. She rubbed Angel's back. "Are you sure?" she said, no trace of judgment or anger in her voice.

"P-pretty sure. N-not often you g-get a f-false positive, isn't it," Angel murmured into April's shoulder.

"Not often, but it's possible. How long would it have been?"

"I-I'm not sh-sure. I just kn-know I should have started by now."

"Shh, okay. Let's dry up those tears. We can go to the store, take the test again, and figure out what to do from there. Okay?"

Angel's sniffling lessened. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good," she said, pulling away from April and wiping her nose on her sweatshirt sleeve. April would rather she used a tissue, but she kept that comment to herself and pushed Angel in the direction of the bathroom so she could clean her face up a bit. Angel didn't take too long before she was back out and ready to go, and April was glad to see old Angel spark back in her eyes. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge for Angel, April and Angel started walking to the store, only a few blocks away.

~TMNT~

_Present_

The door to their cell creaked open. Light flooded in and April couldn't help but wince. Angel didn't move and for a moment April thought she was dead, but then she caught the slight movement in her chest and figured the girl was passed out. Hopefully sleeping rather than unconscious, but being in this place, Angel was probably unconscious.

Four foot ninja entered silently. April shuddered as they made their way to her and started undoing her restraints. The fear she had practically lived with since her and Angel's capture flooding back into her and she felt the urge to cry. The relief that they were taking her again rather than Angel overcame the urge to cry, though, and she let no tears spill, afraid if she appeared too broken they would go back to taking Angel away.

April fell weakly into the waiting arms of the two ninja on either side of her. Faces masked, they always seemed like they walked around with blank looks on their faces. Before her capture, she'd always thought that made them seem unintelligent and drone-like, which lessened the fear she felt from seeing them. Now it made them seem cold and uncaring and it increased the fear she felt from seeing them.

Leaving as quickly as they came, they marched April between them, closing the door and mercifully leaving Angel behind. One ninja walked in front of her, two on either side holding her up, and one behind her, who pointed a sword in her back. Overkill. At this point she couldn't even feel complemented by the overkill. She felt insulted. Like they were rubbing her weakness in her face.

They brought her to a familiar room. She felt panic start to fill her up as the Foot none-too-gently shoved her upon the cold concrete table, strapping her in. They tilted the table up so she wasn't lying flat, then silently walked to their designated positions – two by the door to guard it and two by the steel table to the right of her, assistants to whoever was in charge of her torture today.

She didn't have to wait long until Karai walked in. April shuddered again. The sessions with Karai were the worst. Karai only came when she was feeling impatient with the work her ninja's were doing and thought she could get more done. She was more cold, harsh, and vicious, and April very nearly blurted out the turtle's location more than once with her.

Karai stood there, arms crossed, eyes narrowed, studying April. There was no doubt April was in bad shape. She couldn't even walk for herself. She could barely hold her head up to meet Karai's eyes. She probably wouldn't be able to if it weren't for the support of the table beneath her.

"You could make this end right now. You suffer needlessly, prolonging your pain, when you know, in the end, I _will_ get what I want," Karai vehemently stated.

Looking into Karai's eyes, April believed her. She would get what she wanted. She would get the turtles to face her again one day. But it would _never_ be because April gave up her young friends. "You bitch," she spat out angrily. Her voice was weak but her hate was evident.

"Have it your way," Karai said, and the torture started.

~TMNT~

_Past_

Angel and April both struggled against their captors, adrenaline from their recent battle still coursing through their body. The ninja holding on to them forced them to their knees, giving Karai respect she didn't deserve. Both captive women kept their heads up, refusing to bow down any further than they were forced.

"Unhonorable cowardly bitch," Angel spat angrily, glaring daggers. The comment earned her a slap upside the head.

Karai looked coldly at them both and April wondered what had happened to the shred of humanity she used to carry around with her. Probably dead along with her father.

As if she hadn't heard Angel and in a tone of voice that she might use if all three ladies had sat down to have tea together, Karai spoke. "I'm giving you the choice now. Give me the location of the turtles and you will stay unharmed."

"Never," April said decidedly, still struggling against the pull of the Foot holding her down.

"I have many ways to hurt you. To make you suffer. You will tell me what I want, whether or not you choose the easy way. I suggest you take my offer."

"She said no, you bitch! And that's our final offer!" Angel practically howled in anger.

Karai turned her gaze to focus solely on Angel, who was once again slapped upside the head. "It would serve you well to speak more respectfully to me."

"Never," Angel swore. Then she gave a crooked smile and added, "bitch." The Foot ninja around her never had a chance to slap her again. Quick like only a ninja could be, Karai kicked Angel in the face.

April struggled even harder as Angel's head snapped backwards and blood poured from her nose. "You leave her alone!" she screamed, angry and scared and mostly angry.

Now Karai ignored her. "Take them away," she ordered her ninja, turning around and not even watching them go.

Angel and April struggled the whole way to their cell, but it was futile. Even if they had managed to escape the grasp of the ninja there were simply too many around for a chance at escape. But both of them felt better about not going quietly and they'd cling to whatever they could keep.

What they could keep was not much. As soon as they got to the cell, the ninja started stripping both of the women of their clothes. Angel panicked and April was vaguely reminded of a movie she once saw where the main character got possessed by a demon. Of course, she probably looked about the same herself. To her relief, none of the ninja took advantage of either naked woman; simply clamped manacles from the wall onto their wrists and then left, leaving the women bathed in a frigid darkness.

~TMNT~

_Present_

The blade bit April sharply as Karai slowly re-traced an old not-even-healed-yet cut from the base of April's neck to her thigh. April did her best not to struggle and ruin the path of the blade but she could no longer hold in her screams. Finally the sword was drawn away from her body and she panted in relief, sweat dripping down her face.

Karai didn't pause to question her in between cuts. She made a hand motion to one of the Foot at the table, and they quickly cleaned her sword. They then picked up a sponge, dipped it in a nearby jar, and then rubbed it evenly on the sword, handing it back to their Mistress.

April tried to catch her breath. This was new. And decidedly not good. Karai circled the table once, then placed the sword on April's thigh. April hissed, though the blade hadn't even cut her yet. Holy shit, _it burned_. Karai grinned, her eyes feral, as she cut deeply down April's leg. This time April could neither hold back her scream or her struggles. It felt like her leg was burning.

April continued to scream many minutes after the blade was taken away. Now tears streaked down her face. She looked up at Karai who merely smiled, then placed the sword near April's underarm. This cut was not so deep, but April screamed just as loud and just as long as before.

"No more," April pleaded sobbingly, "no more. God please, no more."

Karai leaned in close. "Tell me what I want to hear."

April only sobbed louder, knowing she couldn't do that either. Karai correctly took her sobs as a no, and proceeded to happily slash away at April, leaving only small cuts this time. By the time she was done April felt as though fire was eating her up from the inside. Fire and pain and blood were all that she knew, even in the darkness that claimed her before Karai was even done cutting her.

~TMNT~

_Past_

April and Angel made it to the store without incidence. Angel seemed to be approaching the situation a bit more calmly now that someone knew besides her – someone older and wiser and who could help her. Being the City that Never Sleeps there were a handful of other people in the store, something that made Angel more determined to stay calm.

Ten minutes later and they had another positive on their hands. "Yup," Angel said glumly, "pregnant." Both women were silent for a moment.

"It's not the end of the world, you know," April smiled calmly.

Angel frowned, as if she didn't believe April, but didn't fight the issue. "What do I do?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I… I don't know," Angel said quietly, frightened most by the fact that she had no idea how she felt rather than the fact that there was something growing inside of her – something that could one day be a living breathing person.

"It's okay," April stated, putting her arm around Angel's shoulder. "You have time to think about it and decide. For now, why don't we go back to my place. You can crash there for the night," she smiled.

Angel nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that."

April smiled warmly again. "Good. We can make some hot cocoa and then we can both sleep. Think about this again tomorrow with clear heads, okay?" Angel nodded again, as April started to lead her out of the store, still chattering calmly about things that she hoped would help take the girl's mind off things. If not, she could always offer her some sleeping pills. A good night's sleep would definitely do her well.

A block away from her apartment, things went to hell. A Foot ninja seemingly fell from the sky and both women jumped back, startled. April looked around and her heart dropped into her stomach. It looked like the shadows held more ninja than April cared to count. More and more dropped down from their perches to circle around the women. April easily fell into her defensive pose, glad she had started some ninja training. Angel also immediately dropped into a fighting stance, standing back to back with her older friend.

The Foot ninja stood still, staring at the two women who knew that it was hopeless from the start, but had already decided to fight. April narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists tighter, as Angel gave a cocky "come and get us" beckoning motion with her hand.

They came.

The fight didn't last long. Although the guys may have faced this many ninja and walked away victorious Angel and April were two short their number and much less trained than the four turtles. In no time, the Foot had the two women's hands tied behind their backs, their faces pressed into the ground. Lifting them up, they began the long journey back to Foot Headquarters.

'This is going to be a looooong night,' April couldn't help but think.

~TMNT~

_Present_

When April woke up again she was back in her cell, once again chained to the wall. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the unsettling darkness around her. Finding what she was searching for, April sighed in relief. Angel was still in the cell.

"Angel?" she asked hoarsely.

"M'still here." Angel sounded more hoarse than she did, and April didn't speak again, knowing it pained them both to use their voices.

Tiredly, April sighed and attempted to stretch out, trying to stand for just a little while. The pain in her side blared in her mind and she screwed her eyes shut, trying to fight off the constant headache she had in this place. Her breathing was labored and white hot pain was always present in her mind. She was too weak to stand. She settled for letting a few tears fall down her cheeks before attempting to enter a meditative state. She hadn't been able to enter one since after the second session, but she kept trying, because it gave her something to focus on besides the blinding pain.

~TMNT~

_Past_

They took Angel first. The door slid open suddenly, right in the middle of the chat about their escape, and ninja swarmed in, all facing Angel and ignoring April. Angel went calmly, a fire in her eyes. She looked back at the struggling, yelling, cursing April and winked at her. "Don't worry; I wanted first crack at that bitch anyway," and then the door was shut, and April was left alone to worry about the girl who was still a teenager.

Angel walked with her head held high, attempting to walk at a slow, leisurely pace, much to the annoyance of the sea of ninja escorting her. They roughly shoved her into a with a single chain hanging down from the center. They forced her hands above her head and strapped them in, as wall as strapping in her feet to the floor, and then surrounded her, weapons pointed at her menacingly.

For three hours she hung there and cursed out every one of the Foot ninja in the room, all their family, and quite a lot of Foot ninja not in the room. Their masked faces betrayed no emotion. Angel cursed them for being "detached, cowardly bastards" as well.

Then Karai entered. Finally. Angel lit up and began cursing her out as well, gleefully calling her all the creative names she could come up with. Karai only bore it for two minutes before she strode over to the purple-haired teen and hit her so hard that her jaw dislocated. Angel snarled, her rage obvious.

"I would ask again about the location of the turtles, but it seems your stay in your cell has made you even more stupid than before."

Angel could only glare at the leader of the Foot clan before her. She wanted so badly to kick the woman, to hit her, to bite her, to make her hurt, but she was strung up and unable to move well enough to do so. She settled for spitting on her. Karai calmly wiped the spittle off her cheek, right under her left eye, and then struck Angel in the side. It was hard to tell whose expression betrayed more rage.

"You _will_ give me the information I want. But first, you will suffer," Karai whispered, and then struck the girl again, this time in the gut. Angel did her best to double over, but her best didn't get her far at all. Growling, she writhed all around in her restraints, doing all that she could to hit Karai back, but Karai only gave a smirk before hitting her bulls eye of Angel's collarbone. Tears sprung up in the corner of Angel's eyes, but she didn't dare let them fall, making sure to look Karai in the eye the whole time.

Over and over again Karai struck her, using her fists, feet, and knees, kicking out a knee, giving her a black eye, kneeing her in the crotch, putting a generous littering of bruises all up and down her sides in addition to the cracked ribs. Karai pounded on Angel's stomach most of all, and Angel could help but wonder through her outraged grief if Karai knew about the baby – the baby she wouldn't even get to choose what to do with, because after the beating Angel took there was no way it was still alive.

Hot tears of rage and helplessness – and if Angel was honest with herself, also of pain – streaked down Angel's face as she hung there limply, Karai studying her for now, having stopped her blows.

Karai's exit was silent and Angel barely even noticed, in shock as the Foot ninja undid the chains and marched her back to the cell with April. Getting a brief glance of Angel in the light, April immediately began asking Angel questions, worried for her friend, a girl she felt needed a mothering figure – one she did her best to provide.

Angel could only sob in response.

She miscarried within the next couple of days and April suddenly had a bit better of an understanding where all the rebellion in the girl went.

~TMNT~

_Present_

April had long ago lost track of time. Pain consumed her now. She had a feeling knowing how many days (weeks? months?) her and Angel had been captured and tortured would only make it worse, anyway.

And then the door came flying open again. Even Angel started in shock this time, not only from the flair of light, but also from the suddenness of the action. Usually when the Foot entered, they slowly pushed the door open, ever silent, and filed in one behind the other. This action spoke of surprise and panic. Before the door had even been thrown open all the way the black-clad ninja had poured in, practically stepping over each other to get in.

April couldn't help her eyes from going wide in fear as a growing pit of dread spread in her stomach. Weapons scratched against the walls, scratched against the prisoners, even scratched against the Foot. April suddenly felt very claustrophobic. She wildly looked across the scene over to Angel, mouthing to her that it would be okay, no matter how much of a lie they both knew it was.

Sharp weapons pressed against the prisoner's necks and April was finding it very hard to breath. The Foot seemed to be fighting amongst themselves. April couldn't really tell. It was chaos in the cell.

But finally a few ninja stepped out of the door and into the hall. April suddenly realized the reason for their behavior. They were afraid. But afraid of what? She looked over at Angel again and the woman held her eye contact, both of them straining to make sure the other was okay, to make sure they weren't alone in this room full of enemies.

April almost broke eye contact in surprise over what happened next. One of the Foot spoke. April hadn't even been sure they _could_ talk after all the silence she had faced from them. What shocked her more was the message he carried.

"The Turtles have arrived. The Mistress has no further use for these bitches-"

"Wait just a minute, now! She's the bitch," Angel interrupted, not once breaking eye contact with April.

"Go ahead and do it. Finish them."

April swallowed crookedly. No, it couldn't end like this. They guys were here to save them and the ninja were going to kill them? What injustice. Unknowingly, big tears started to fall down April's face. It was so unfair. Tears also fell down Angel's face. The teenager also trembled a bit. April had always guessed that she would end up dying early simply from being caught in the turtle's ninja crossfire, and she thought she had accepted that. But to die here, so close to freedom? April wanted to scream.

So she did.

Buckling against her chains, not caring about the torture she was putting her body through, she fought for a way out, screaming Casey's war cry the whole time. "GOOOONGALAAAAA! GOONGALA! GOONGALA!" She screamed it over and over again and she vaguely recognized Angel joining in. She pulled her hands desperately against the restraints, trying to pull them out, kicking at the ninja surrounding her. She knew Angel was doing the same. She felt a flair of pride at the sudden life and fight the girl showed again. Hope had a funny way of doing that to people.

Both women felt their feet make connections with many of the ninja, and both knew that unless the guys showed up, it just wasn't enough. April sobbed and screamed all the harder.

The ninja were shouting now, something about the wrath of their Mistress and her orders and "just do it" and "get it over with" and "it shouldn't be this hard". Their panic fueled her and she wondered how she could have been so weak earlier.

One hand popped free. April was pretty sure there was no skin left on it, but it was free and she had another weapon and along with that more hope and adrenaline coursed through her. She struggled more wildly and more violently than before, using her free hand to push the shackle up as she pulled on her still stuck hand.

Amazingly it popped out and April nearly sighed and stopped fighting in relief. Instead, she threw herself into the crowd of ninja's, hoarsely screaming Casey's stupid war cry, still. Angel still wasn't free, but April was, and it fueled the women more.

In the back of her mind, April knew the chances that the guys were hearing them were slim to none, but it felt so good to fight back again. Even if fight back was a generous term for what she was doing, which was pretty much just flailing about, flinging her limbs everywhere, hoping to keep the Foot at a far enough distance away they wouldn't be able to seriously harm her.

And then a sword sliced through Angel's stomach. She gave a sickly gurgle as blood spurted out of her mouth, spraying the Foot ninja around her. Then she hung limply in her chains, blood dripping down her chin, deathly silent. April howled in grief and shock and anger and denial. She flung herself on the ninja with the bloody blade, wrapping her hands around his throat, intent on suffocating him, hoping his eyes would pop out with such force they would go through his mask. Served him right.

He struggled weakly under her grasp and dropped the sword, weakly kneeing her in the stomach. "You bastard!" she screamed. And then again. And again. And again. "You bastards! You killed her child, you killed her choice, you killed her!" The ninja wasn't even alive anymore and yet she was still shaking him, death grip on her neck, oblivious to the other ninja still attacking her.

"GOONGALA, YOU COLD-HEARTED BASTARDS!" And then Casey burst in the room, hockey mask in place, hockey sticks swinging around with a lethality she had never before seen Casey use. "Get away from my girlfriend you fuckwads!" April could hear their skulls cracking and cried in relief. As rough around the edges as Casey could be sometimes, he did love her and would do anything to protect her. She wondered how he'd acted like with her captured.

Knowing Casey had it under control she weakly limped to Angel's body and hung onto it, sobbing into her shoulder. "It's not right. Wake up, Angel, wake up. I know you can do it," she said, her words muffled by the fact that she had her face buried in the girl's skin. "They can't take you, they can't. You're too strong. C'mon, Angel."

And then there was a soft hand on her shoulder. When she wouldn't let go of Angel's body, Casey simply resorted to hugging both her and Angel, whispering sweet lies – "it's going to be okay" sounded especially bittersweet – to her. April didn't want the moment to end. For that moment, she could pretend like Angel was still alive and that everything was going to be okay.

But of course it couldn't last, and Casey finally had to pry her away from Angel. He easily picked her up and cradled her like a babe. April was vaguely aware that the four turtles were there too. One of them handed Casey a blanket and he wrapped it around her cold, naked form. She could hear two of the others working on getting Angel down, but she couldn't see them, and she no longer wanted to. The vision of Angel dead would stick in her mind forever as it was.

April was too weak and delirious to remember the trip out of Foot HQ, but she swore that when she looked back at the building from the battle shell it had exploded several times and then went up in flames. But that almost sounded too good to be true.

As the guys, especially Casey, who never let her go, crowded around her, telling her the same lie she told Angel, trying to look at the extent of her wounds, trying to comfort her, she blocked it all out. Angel was dead and things were never going to be the same again.

~TMNT~

A challenge set down by Connie Nervegas over at Stealthy Stories (where I'm still known as Tewi instead of Angst Splatter). The muse hit hard (though the ending, at least, turned out very different than what I was originally thinking) and hopefully I've answered their challenge satisfactorily.

I appreciate all concrit. I'm sure I've made plenty of mistakes in this fic – typos and otherwise. The miscarriage, for example. I couldn't find any really good resource on miscarriages, so the scene is kind of skipped over and vague, but hopefully it's not too inaccurate.


End file.
